Ice Cream and Fire
by MysticVeil
Summary: He loved getting into trouble, but he is my best friend and we will always have a bond no one can break.
1. Chapter 1

My name is Aliya. Yes, it's a weird name I know. I have been told many times, no need to remind me again. Why do I have such a weird name? Well, first off I was born in Israel and my parents immigrated to Texas. Of all places, they went to bloody Texas. I don't really like Texas; I don't like my school at all. I was quiet, and avoided talking if I didn't have to. I spent most of my time in the library, but there was one girl who talked to me sometimes. Her name was Tracy and she was sweet, but almost as quiet as me. But that wasn't the reason she didn't stay with me, it was because of her friend, Kendra. Kendra was the meanest person I have ever met. She has hated me since we were younger. She would shove past me in the hallway and would knock my books out of my hands. She was the "queen bee" of the school and had control over almost everyone. Well, almost everyone except her on/off boyfriend Rick, or Ricky, which he preferred.

Right now, I was sitting the library and reading _To Kill a Mockingbird_. The old air-conditioner system was trying to work, but soon it conked out and within a minute, I could already feel sweat on my forehead. I pulled back my long hair into a braid and began reading again, but then I heard the door open. I didn't think anything of it, until two hands suddenly slammed down on my table which caused me to shriek and drop my book on the floor.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you." Ricky said, smirking at me. People in our school were a little scared of Ricky, but he was really popular. And this was a really unusual sight to see Ricky in a library. Actually, he had only come to see me in here when he needed help with homework. When he wanted to see me, he would find me outside and he would take me out for ice cream, which he loved. And that happened a lot. I think there was another reason why Kendra hated me. Besides Tracy, Ricky was the only one who talked to me. He always had, even when we were kids, this year more so than ever. He was my friend. We were the oddest friends, but friends none the less. Actually, I would even go so far to call him my best friend.

"Sure you didn't. What do you need?" I asked him, retrieving my book from the dusty floor. I brushed off the dust, but Ricky grabbed the book from my hands and began leafing through the pages but soon handed it back to me.

"Why is it you always think I need something when I come to see you?" he asked me, kicking his legs over the table and landing on his feet on my side.

"You're in the library Ricky."

"Whatever. Anyway, you are always in here. Lunch only just started, and I am not letting you spend another one cooped up in here. Come on, I want to go get candy." He said and grabbed my book and shoved it in my bag and then yanked me up and put my bag on my shoulder and pulled me out of the library. We walked out into the hot sunshine, and soon I began sweating. Ricky smirked at me and grabbed my bag from me and yanked off my cardigan so I was only in my white tank top.

"It's to freaking warm for a sweater."

"Cardigan."

"Whatever. Come on, candy and ice cream awaits." He said and grabbed me by the arm and we were off to the corner store. He began rambling on about the most recent fight, and I just smiled and listened silently. Until he told me about how he got into the fight. I froze and glared at him.

"You promised me you wouldn't fight anymore. Ricky, last time you got beaten up really badly." I said, a small shiver running through me as I remembered him showing up at my door, his face covered in blood and bruises all over his body. He was in a lot of pain, but he put on a smile and told me how much fun it was.

"Oh, come on! It was only a small fight. And look! No blood!" he said, grinning and held up his arms, displaying the uncut skin proudly. I couldn't help but smile at him.

"Ok. But please, don't fight. Please, for me, Ricky-

"Oh yes, _Ricky_, for her. Stop fighting for your precious Aliya." Kendra's stupid, conceited voice filled the air. Ricky visibly grew angry, and he lowered his arms and turned to face the girl who was approaching him.

"Oh, Ricky. You're wrapped around her fucking finger aren't you! You'll do _anything _for her won't you! That little bitch. She doesn't even know how to fight!" she yelled at me, and suddenly she was on top of me. Her fingernails left stinging marks on my face and eyes, and then one of her fists met my cheek. I cried and tried to kick her off, but I didn't need to. She was ripped off me, pulling a piece of my hair with her, and thrown to the side. Ricky looked like he was ready to murder someone, and he stepped in front of me, almost defensively.

"Fucking touch her again and I will throw you in the river you little sperm-spitting, gutter slut!" he yelled at Kendra. Kendra got up and spat at him, then turned and stormed away to her friends. Ricky clenched his fist and then looked down at me, his usual happy face turned sad. He held out his hand, which I took and he gently pulled me to my feet. He began looking at my face and checking the rest of my body.

"I'm fine." I mumbled and pulled away from him. He sighed and nodded at me.

"Come on, I'll take you home." He said and put his arm around my shoulders and walked me back to my house, luckily it wasn't too far. Before leaving, he kissed me on the forehead, told me to wash my face with alcohol and then he was gone. I was worried, whenever Ricky gets mad; he likes to light things on fire.

It was around 2 o'clock when the phone rang. I was watching _Dance Moms_ with an ice pack on my cheek, but when I answered it, I heard Tracy's frantic voice.

"Aliya! It's Ricky, he set something on fire! He's in trouble!" she screamed. I didn't have to hear anything else; I threw the phone down and ran out the door. It didn't take me long to get there, and once I arrived I saw fire trucks and all the kids in lines outside. And then I saw the police cars. My heart froze when I saw Ricky running away from the policemen. He was shoving people out of his way, and then he saw me. He ran towards me and threw his arms around me, his mouth to my ear.

"I'm sorry." he whispered, and then the policemen grabbed him and tore him off me. I cried and tried to hold on to his hand, but they grabbed him and dragged him away. They pulled him away and he disappeared in the police car. And then he was gone.

He was sentenced to go to a place called Camp Green Lake. I didn't see him, he was only allowed to call me for two minutes and that's when he told me where he was going. He said he would be gone for eighteen months. I cried, and then he was forced to hang up the phone. The last thing I said was I would be waiting.

I was sitting on a park bench, reading a book. It was eight months since Ricky was sent away, only ten months to go. These past months have been hard, but at least Tracy has finally broken free of Kendra and we now spent a lot of time together. But as much as Tracy was a good friend, she could never replace Ricky. The familiar ache I felt every time I thought about him resurfaced and I closed my book and stared at the dry, brown grass. I just wished Ricky was here. Suddenly two hands slammed on the bench. I shrieked and my book went flying.

"Oops, sorry to scare you!"

I knew that voice. I knew that voice very well. I smiled and shot around and jumped on him. He laughed, but clearly wasn't expecting that because he stumbled and fell over.

"I thought you said you'd be gone for eighteen months?" I asked him.

"Are you complaining?"

"Of course I'm not!" I shrieked and hugged him again.

So that's how me and my crazy, best friend got separated and then reunited. Our story is an interesting one, and it is definitely not over yet. Ricky has a lot more trouble to get into to, and I will always be there to help him out of it. And there is a lot more ice cream to eat.


	2. Chapter 2

I was lying on my couch, Star Wars episode 1 blasting on the TV. An empty tub of ice cream is beside me. I only ate so much ice cream in one sitting when I am stressed. Why am I stressed, you may ask? Well, Ricky has been back for a month and for three weeks things has been great. But good things don't always last. It was this week actually, I felt like Ricky was staring to not want to be with me. I had a feeling it was because of Kendra, who had started to flirt with Ricky. And when I say flirt, I mean trying to have sex with him. And really subtly to, it was disgusting.

So it started with Kendra. It always starts with Kendra. Today I was outside with Ricky. School was out, and we were at a park on a bench. Kendra came; crying and blubbering like a baby, and practically fell into Ricky's arms. She said a boy had threatened to beat her up because she wouldn't sleep with him. It is obvious Ricky still has feelings for Kendra; I honestly think he always will, no matter how many times she stabs him in the back, which is a lot. So he got her to tell him who it was, and went after him. I tried to stop him, which did not turn out well…

"_Ricky! Wait!" I yelled and ran after him. _

"_No, he is going to pay." He sneered and continued walking. _

"_But, how do you know she is even telling the-_

"_Listen to me! You stay out of this! It is none of your fucking business anyway!" he yelled at me. He has never yelled at me before. It scared me, but hurt me more. _

"_I am only trying to help." I said quietly. _

"_You think Kendra would lie to me? She would never do that! Now get out of my face you bitch!" he yelled. I stopped dead in my tracks and I am pretty sure my heart stopped to. Did I really hear that? Ricky's face was stormy, but his eyes were… soft? Nope. Forgiving? No. I think they were regretful. But Ricky being Ricky, he didn't say anything and just told me to go home…_

So here I am, lying on my couch with an empty tub of ice cream and a tear stained tissue. My best friend called me a bitch. It sucks and it hurts, a lot more than if someone else called me that. I hate having emotions; I wish I was a robot. I closed my eyes and pulled the quilt up to my chin, intent on falling asleep.

The next thing I heard was a loud knock at my door. I glanced at my clock on the TV, which said 2 am. Luckily my parents were out for the night. I got up and looked through the peephole, and I saw a head full of curly hair, and then two blue eyes. Those eyes could only belong to Ricky. I opened the door and almost fainted when I saw him covered in blood… again.

"What happened?" I asked him, taking his hand and pulling him inside.

"He got the worst of it." he mumbled.

So I am guessing "he" was the other person. I pulled Ricky to the couch and pushed him on it, which caused him to groan. I grabbed a washcloth and sat on him, which I always did. He groaned again and squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lip, most likely trying to keep from screaming. I quickly hopped off him and took a few steps away from the couch, unsure of what to do. How can take care of him without causing him pain? I hate this. Ricky opened one of his eyes and sighed, closing his eyes again and dropping his head over the arm of the couch.

"Come on, munchkin. Don't be scared," he said, smirking at me. As carefully as I could, I sat down beside him, close to his chest. I leaned forward and sponged away the blood on his face. It took me a while, and then I got some Advil and water for him. He swallowed both pills in one gulp.

"Please, let me take you to the hospital. You could be really hurt." I begged.

"No. No, I don't want to."

"Ricky, please-

"No. But can you do me a favor?"

"I can try."

"Just come here," he mumbled and I crawled on the couch beside him. He put his arm around me and I nestled into his chest, breathing in his familiar scent. He fell asleep soon, which was good. I stayed awake for a little longer, worry knotting in my stomach. My best friend is getting beaten up, and I am not doing anything to stop it. I felt like he was changed from his time at Camp Green Lake. If anything he was tougher. But he is my best friend, and if he thinks I will just silently stand by while he gets into fights, he is wrong.


	3. Chapter 3

I stayed asleep with Ricky until he woke up, tried to move but knocked me off the couch in the process. I fell on the hard wood… face first. My nose was squished and I am pretty sure my forehead had a dent. I grumbled and kicked Ricky in the face, and fell on my back. Ricky grumbled some sort of angry response and then he sat up and made his way to the kitchen. I stayed on the ground and grabbed a pillow to cover my eyes from the bright sunlight that was streaming in through the windows.

"Do you want anything?" Ricky called from the kitchen, where he was going through my cupboards.

"No." I said. I lifted the pillow off my eyes and checked the time, 8am. Oh God, my parents will be home soon. I hopped to my feet and jogged to the kitchen. Ricky was in my fridge now, a package of chips and a jar of peanut butter in his hand.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

"Looking for ice cream."

"What is it with you and ice cream?" I mumbled, keeping an eye on the window in case my parents arrived. You have to understand, my parents don't like Ricky. They think he is a bad influence.

"Ice cream is amazing." He responded and pulled out a tub. My house is always well supplied with ice cream. I opened my mouth to respond, but the sound of car tires crunching on gravel silenced me.

"Come on!" Ricky said as he threw the food back in the fridge and then he grabbed me by the arm and made me run to my room. I slammed the door behind me, and nodded to the closet. It has not been the first time Ricky has had to hide in my closet. He quickly jumped and in and I went back out to meet my parents. They had spent the day out at their friend's cabin and told me all about it. I smiled and nodded, and then asked if I could go out for a bit. They agreed and I ran back to my room. Ricky was already out of the closet and was lying on my bed.

"Come on munchkin, I want to go down to the river." He said. He stood and walked to my window. My window was close to the ground, so he could jump out of it.

"You go out that way, I need to get changed and go out the front door." I told him. Ricky nodded and then he jumped out of the window and landed on his feet outside. I pulled off my pajamas and changed into shorts and a tank top, nothing fancy. I walked outside, grabbing a peach on my way out. I met Ricky outside, and we began the walk down to the river. We were most silent, because we were sharing the peach. I knew Ricky was still thinking about yesterday. My fists clenched as I thought about Kendra. One of these days she is going to piss of the wrong person, and then she will get what she deserves.

We reached the river and Ricky plopped to the ground. He smacked the grass beside him, telling me to come here. I lay down beside him, staring at the white clouds. Ricky propped himself on his elbow and looked at me. I raised an eyebrow and looked at him.

"What?" I asked him.

"Nothing," he responded and went back to staring at the clouds.


End file.
